Ivan and Iris watched with trepidation as the approaching beasts closed in on them, their hearts racing in tandem with the imminent danger they faced. Every second felt like a step closer to death, and desperation fueled their thoughts.
Thinking quickly, Ivan swiped to bring up his system window, his mind racing to formulate a plan. "Please, please be there," he muttered under his breath, his hands moving with urgency in the air.
"Yes!" Ivan exclaimed with relief as he saw what he was looking for. He still had access to the tutorial store, and there was one crucial item he needed.
[Health Potion x10 Purchased - Cost: 10000 XP]
With no time to spare, Ivan swiftly made the purchase. The only plan he could come up with was to extend their chances of survival, and these health potions might be the key to their survival.
"Here, drink it when your health gets low," Ivan said, pulling one of the health potions from his inventory and tossing it to Iris.
"Is this a health potion? How did you get this outside the game?" Iris inquired curiously.
"Are you seriously asking questions in this situation?" Ivan retorted with concern.
"Ah, sorry," Iris replied, refocusing on the imminent danger.
"If you need another, tell me. Are you ready?" Ivan asked, his grip tightening on his sword while a golden glow emanated from his legs.
"Yeah," Iris responded, holding both daggers in a determined stance.
"Good. Don't die. Go!" Ivan commanded, and in a blur of motion, they both disappeared into action.
They moved too swiftly for most of the monsters to keep up with. Iris' movements were mesmerizing, her daggers cutting through the creatures' flesh with deadly precision, each cut leaving behind a poisonous effect.
Iris skillfully maneuvered through the vast horde of monsters, her blade slicing through them before they could even defend themselves.
However, their numbers proved overwhelming. No matter how strong or fast she was, Iris couldn't focus on all of them simultaneously. This realization struck her as the goblin's club met her abdomen with a bone-crushing impact.
Struggling to her feet, Iris swiftly drank the health potion. With renewed determination, she gripped her daggers and launched back into the horde of monsters, continuing her relentless onslaught.
As the battle raged on, Ivan's incredible speed, fueled by the activation of his new skill "Chrono-speed," granted him an astonishing advantage over the monsters.
His sword sliced through them like a blur, leaving the creatures bewildered as they failed to comprehend the speed of their impending doom. For those few monsters that managed to survive the initial onslaught, their lives were slowly chipped away by the lethal poison seeping from Ivan's blade.
Despite the one-sided massacre Ivan was inflicting, the colossal boss-level goblin, Vagorai, had finally grown tired of the duo's avoidance tactics. Ivan and Iris had been skillfully darting past the fearsome creature while dealing with other adversaries, but now they found themselves paralyzed, unable to move.
Fear coursed through their veins as their entire bodies felt immobilized, rendering them helpless before the imposing Goblin King. It seemed impossible to defeat this mighty adversary, and any attempt to resist would surely lead to their demise.
This eerie feeling of fear mirroring their encounter with the merchant of time on a far lesser scale. However, a crucial revelation struck Ivan when a notification appeared before his eyes:
[ Vagorai, the Goblin King skill: (Fear) is active ]
[Copyable Skills: 1]
[ would you like to analyze skill? ]
[ Y/N ]
"It's not real, it's just a skill," Ivan urgently exclaimed to Iris, attempting to bring some clarity to the situation. However, his warning came too late, as the goblins took advantage of their momentary hesitation, and in a brutal onslaught, they slammed Iris to the ground.
Time seemed to slow down as Ivan witnessed the horrifying scene. The goblins descended upon Iris, their malevolent clubs and fists delivering a merciless barrage of sickening thuds, showing no mercy in their assault.
"Darn it!" Ivan exclaimed, launching himself at the goblins with all the speed he could muster.
The temporal dimension he had created now encompassed his arms, allowing him to swing his sword at an incredible pace, too rapid for any of the goblins to defend against. In mere seconds, their tough skins were repeatedly sliced through, coupled with the blades poison they eventually fell to their deaths .
"Iris, are you okay?" Ivan said anxiously, gently tapping her cheeks in an attempt to wake her.
"It hurts... it hurts bad," Iris muttered, her entire body battered and bloodied.
"Don't talk," Ivan instructed, carefully helping her drink the health potion he pulled from his inventory.
The health potion was a precious item that not only replenished strength and health but could also aid in healing injuries. However, it wasn't an instant fix. The more severe the injury, the longer the healing process. Iris would survive, but she wouldn't be able to fight for some time.
"It's never easy, is it," Ivan muttered, fully aware of the overwhelming number of monsters beginning to surround him and the incapacitated Iris on the floor.
Now, not only did he have to face the entire horde of monsters alone, but he also had to protect Iris, who was recovering from her injuries.
"Analyze skill," Ivan muttered, and his surroundings turned blue, causing all the monsters to vanish, except for the Goblin King, who remained before him, exuding a menacing aura of bloodlust.
[Analyzing skill (fear)]
[Analysis complete]
[Skill Developer rank increased]
"The user focuses their energy on projecting an aura of overwhelming bloodlust towards the target. This aura is channeled through the user's eyes, voice, or a specific gesture, intensifying the psychological impact. The skill can demoralize the victim to the extent of even paralyzing them, depending on the skill level and the victim's mental strength," the system voice explained.
"Would you like to copy this skill?" it inquired.
"Yes," Ivan replied resolutely.
Then, the familiar throbbing headache accompanied the process as the skill became engraved into Ivan's mind.
Returning to where Iris lay battered, Ivan gazed at her for a moment before shifting his gaze to the approaching horde.
"Sigh, normally I'd leave you here and find a way to escape, but you did save my life, and I always repay my debts," Ivan spoke, his tone serious and unwavering. He turned to face the incoming horde of monsters, his legs glowing with a golden radiance.
[Skill: Chrono-speed is active]
"And you mobs have actually pissed me off," Ivan added, his voice dripping with a dark menace that struck fear into some of the monsters, causing them to freeze in place with terror.
[Skill: Fear is active]